Railing and support means therefor



Dec. 6, 1960 L. J. MEYERS RAILING AND SUPPORT MEANS THEREFOR Filed Jan. 8, 1959 INVENTOR LEO J. MEYER-5 ATTORNEY Unite RAILING AND SUPPORT MEANS THEREFOR Leo J. Meyers, Murraysville, Pa., assignor to Best Metal Kraft, Inc., Pitcairn, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Filed Jan. 8, 1959, Ser. No. 785,610

6 Claims. (Cl. 256-70) A further object of the invention is the provision ofa railing formed as a longitudinal aluminum extrusion and having oppositely disposed jaw sections continuously formed therein and cam members disposed within said railing and movable relative thereto for moving said jaw sections toward one another.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of a railing and a support post therefor and means in said railing for distorting the shape thereof to engage and clamp on said support post.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of a railing and support members therefor that may be formed of extruded metal sections and simply and easily installed.

The railing and support therefor disclosed herein comprises a railing such as used as a hand railing on a balcony or stairway or as a guard railing on a floor and is arranged so that the visible portions of the railing completely conceal the means in the railing that secure it to the support means. It is well known that various types of railings and means for mounting them have been proposed and used and it is also known that the majority of such railings have clearly visible bolts, screws or other fasteners securing them to their support means and thereby detracting from the appearance thereof.

The present invention provides a railing which has no visible means of attachment to its support means but actually incorporates clamping means that attaches it to its support means more securely than bolts, screws or fasteners if the same were used. The railing of the present disclosure also has unusual deflection resistance in that the internal structure of the railing is such that spaced longitudinal I-beam sections actually comprise the major portion of the railing thereby giving it great rigidity and the ability to support itself over relatively long unsupported sections.

With the foregoing and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention resides in the combination and arrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafter described and claimed, it being the intention to cover all changes and modifications of the example of the invention herein chosen for the purposes of disclosure, which do not constitute departures from the spirit and scope of the invention.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Figure 1 is a side view of the railing with parts broken away and parts in cross section.

Figure 2 is a horizontal section on line 2-2 of Figure 1.

States Patent M 2,963,275 Fatented Dec. 6, 1960 Figure 3 is a vertical section on line 3-3 of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a vertical section on line 4-4 of Figure 2.

Figure 5 is an enlarged perspective view of the cam members and actuating means shown in Figures 1, 2 and 3. 1

By referring to the drawings and Figures 1, 2 and '3 in particular it will be seen that a railing of a general inverted U-shape in cross section is disclosed and comprises a top portion 10 having joined oppositely disposed side portions 11 and 12, the lower edges of the side portions 11 and 12 having inturned flanges 13 and 14. The side portions 11 and 12 have inwardly extending oppositely disposed longitudinally extending serrated jaws 15 and 16 respectively.

' The longitudinal corner portions of the railing where the top portion joins the side portions 11 and 12 are deformable so that the jaws 15 and 16 may be moved inwardly toward one another by the action of upper and lower cam members 17 and 18 respectively which are best shown in Figure 5 of the drawings. By referring thereto it will be observed that the solid lines in Figure 5 show the upper cam member 17 in working position with a pair of grooves in the bottom thereof defining oppositely disposed cam surfaces 19 and 20 which are in spaced parallel relation to one another and in longitudinal alignment with upwardly projecting cam surfaces 21 and 22 on the jaws 15 and 16. Broken lines in Figure 5 show the positioning of the upper cam member 17 when it is moved upwardly between the jaws 15 and 16 so as to place it in the position shown in Figures 1, 2 and 3 of the drawings. It will be seen that the width of the upper cam member 17 permits such positioning when the member 17 is disposed longitudinally in the railing while the length of the upper cam member 17 is such that the cam surfaces 19 and 20 therein overlie the cam surfaces 21 and 22 of the jaws 15 and 16 when the upper cam member 17 is positioned diagonally in the railings, as shown in Figure 2.

The lower cam member 18 has a pair of spaced parallel grooves in its upper surface forming cam surfaces 23 and 24 which are adapted to be moved upwardly against downwardly extending cam surfaces on the jaws 15 and 16 as best seen in Figure 3 of the drawings. Both the cam members 17 and 18 are apertured on a common vertical line and the upper cam member 17 is threaded so that a threaded fastener 25 may be rotatably positioned through the lower cam member 18 and threadably engaged in the upper cam member 17 and will, when revolved as by a screw driver, move the cam members 17 and 18 toward one another thereby engaging the cam surfaces 19, 20, 23 and 24 on the upper and lower cam surfaces of the jaws 15 and 16 so as to impart sideward movement thereto which will cause the jaws 15 and 16 to move inwardly toward one another. The degree of such motion is controlled by the inturned flanges 13 and 14 on the side walls 11 and 12 and it will occur to those skilled in the art that several sets of the upper and lower cam members 17 and 18 may be disposed in the railing at intervals therealong and particularly with respect to adjacent posts 26 which are preferably serrated so that the jaws 15 and 16 engage the posts 26 and thereby secure the railing firmly thereto, as best seen in Figure 4 of the drawings.

It will thus be seen that the complete means for distorting the railing and thereby moving the longitudinally extending jaws 15 and 16 thereof inwardly toward one another is hidden within the railing and that the formation of the jaws 15 and 16 lends structural stability to the railing. It will occur to those skilled in the art that the post 26 while preferably cross sectionally square and serrated may comprise any desired shape that may be received between the jaws 15 and 16 of the railing and Jclosed herein operates to meet theseveral objectsof the invention and having described my invention, what I claim is:

1. A railing and means for securing said railing to a support post, -said railing comprising a-longitudinally extending inverted channel shaped distortable member, having longitudinal extending oppositely disposed jaw members formed on the inner sides thereof. said jaw members having upwardly and downwardly'extending sections including cam surfaces,means for distorting said railingby engaging said cam surfaces and moving saidjaw members inwardlytoward one another to engage said support post, said means comprising upper and lower cam members, each of which has spacedparal- --lel cam surfaces engageable on said'cam surfaces on said jaws and means extending between said upper and lower cam members for moving the same toward one another. 2. The railing and support means set forth in claim 1 and wherein the side walls of said channel shaped member and the longitudinal jaw members in said railing have the configuration of 'I-beams disposed horizontally. 3. The railing set forth in claim 1 and wherein the oppositely disposed innermost faces of the said jaw members are serrated.

4. The railing set forth in claim 1 and wherein the oppositely disposed innermost faces of the said jaw members have longitudinally extending sharp edged grooves therein.

5. The railing set forth in claim 1 and wherein the upper cam member is of substantially greater length than width and 'thewidth thereof isless than the space in said railing between said ,jaw members,-and the length thereof is greater than the space in the railing between said jaw members.

6. The railing set forth in claim land wherein the means for moving the upper and lower cam members toward one another comprise bolts rotatably positioned through the lower cam member and threadably engaging a threaded opening in said upper cam member.

References Cited in the file of this patent 

